Funny how keen he is to split the left vote, eh? Looks like he’s become a bit of a trumpist nowadays.

Tau Henare: “He’s a dictator, it’s his way or the highway. He’s a typical league player, there’s only one way to the try line and that’s straight ahead.” ” “I like Phil [Goff, the present mayor] but he’s such a f***ing politician. He doesn’t do anything. Tamihere would let loose the dogs of war. And whatever was left over, he’d work with.”

“Councillor Christine Fletcher will be Tamihere’s running mate. “JT has bravado,” she tells me, sitting on a couch in her comfortably sprawling house overlooking Mt Eden. “Phil is not sufficiently charismatic.”” Ah, left/right collaboration plus charisma. A potent brew!

The Brits are in a tough place with their political ruling classes and structures, compounded by huge modern wealth disparities. It took a decade or so of it’s bungling with the rise of the Nazis to near annihilation, to step aside sufficiently, & the Brits got on track pretty quickly, essentially paving the way for the saving of western europe civilisation.

The Germans, also an admirable different people again, have proportional representation for instance, which i think was one of the models used in our change to mmp (which the Nats of course want to bin).

Anyhow, NZ should be friends with one and all where ever in the world as much as is practical, but particularly with those societal characteristics of any state(s) that more closely match the best of our commonwealth & western civilisation heritage with our NZ’s flavor.

A sad tale, and why NZ has to clamp down on bad immigration advisors and make it much simpler with little room for error for the applicants coming to NZ and hoodwinked by advisors what they can gain residency for.

For example it has become easy for wealthy people from around the world to just buy a restaurant or stand alone business that actually takes that opportunity away from a local person while also driving up commercial rents much of which is not owned by NZ companies domiciled in NZ for tax purposes.

While a restaurant or business might have a high turnover, the real issue is profitability and often they are not very profitable at all, and just employ low waged insecure staff who need government welfare top ups for wages, and most of the profits go to the lease holder of the commercial premise.

It seems hard to justify how running an existing restaurant can be considered “entrepreneurial” but that is how that interpretation has been spun by immigration consultants.

Meanwhile another issue is fake jobs in those businesses where the applicants pay their own wages or in some cases it is just a paper scam only!

I have a lot of sympathy for people lured here while enriching immigration lawyers and advisors, and feel NZ has a very poor immigration department that has made many mistakes, but NZ has now become a basket case, with the third highest immigration in the world, and a country full of people whose wages are so low they need food parcels and can’t afford to rent anywhere, let alone a local person starting a new business here with the overpriced offerings of commercial rents which has been hijacked by people coming to NZ and just buying an existing business to gain residency.

“Almost a decade ago now, I was at The Treasury trying to make sense of why New Zealand’s economic performance hadn’t been better. 100 years ago, you see, living standards in New Zealand were as high as those anywhere in the world – only the US and Australia were really close. These days, depending how you measure these things, we rank around 35th. When we analyse economic performance, economists put a lot of weight on measures of productivity – what a country manages to produce with the inputs its uses. The most accessible measure of productivity is real GDP per hour worked. And since 1970 we’ve had the second slowest productivity growth rate of any of the member countries of the OECD. Even in just the last 25 years, after all the reforms we did, we’ve still had productivity growth near the bottom of the OECD.”

Are you suggesting Aotearoa reinvent itself as a Brexit refuge for ethnocentric Brits ?
Iron was being smelted in Wales and traded in Europe long before the Roman invasion.
Those time have gone. Aotearoa increasingly reflects the Asia/Pacific. Perhaps we should be compared with our neigbours rather than “Croaking Cassandras”.

@ Quasimodo, if you read my post, I’m suggesting that we ditch lazy immigration of so called entrepreneurs who are just buying existing NZ businesses and assets like water or restaurants, often bringing in more migrant workers or creating overpriced residences that take up land but locals can’t afford to live in, and try to attract fewer but a better fit of migrants who can actually lift (or at least not drop) living standards aka true entrepreneurs and thinkers of the world and get away from the low wage economy of Asia that NZ has fallen into under Rogernomics, John n Bill and protectionist trade otherwise rebranded as free trade.

Aat the same time by removing our low wage culture and provide more high paid opportunities for our own youth and people residing here, that we can retain more skilled people born here including those of migrant children who are born here, have opportunities for those who might otherwise face unemployment in NZ as they may be low skilled Kiwis. (but not stupid enough to take a casual job, under minimum wages with no security in the middle of know where or a contract job that works out under minimum wages that you can’t live on in a city and so we now have hundred of thousands of kiwis who are the working poor or on a benefit as our increasing jobseeker figures are showing).

“Correction: we off-shored obsolete manufacturing clearing the decks for innovative new models and technologies.”

A correction to your correction…we off-shored virtually all manufacturing regardless of obsolescence…we opened our markets without reciprocation…with no manufacturing industry to speak of the base and incentive (and expertise) from which to develop and make the productivity gains of the other advanced economies was given up as too difficult.

Now whether you think unlimited manufacturing is either desirable or achievable is a whole other argument

But there is no difference if a migrant is employing them or a Kiwi in a restaurant, so there is not net gain of jobs there James, and only a Natz thinker would consider running a middle of the road restaurant that was existing, is some sort of entrepreneurial activity that a Kiwi could not do.

I think the the Natz also love the criminal drug importers as much as Labour.

SaveNZ, This was common even 20 years ago. We know of several wealthy couples who bought Bed and Breakfast businesses in the Bay of Islands. They had to have an address and an income plus one million in the bank. Now a pound became three dollars, so selling a London property meant “Wealth” by NZ standards. They didn’t even have to hire locals. So our law in this area has always been poor.

Totally agree Patricia but it’s getting much worse than 20 years ago as we now have super cheap global travel, the rise of tax havens, no language requirements, and have a significant amount of NZ residents or overseas middlemen, ‘immigration’ consultants and lawyers trawling the world selling NZ residency and visas, taking $40k from then for the privilege of doing so.

We also now have the migrants that came here under categories like parents, marrying other migrants near retirement after 11 days online like the recent case that immigration failed to stop.

Also some of these people who arrived over 20 years ago have been operating in NZ as criminals for years… somehow getting residency without even putting in a tax return!

“According to Inland Revenue records neither Yim nor Wu, who arrived in New Zealand in 1991 and 1994, have ever declared their income nor paid any tax.”

“As part of the raids on Yim, police also seized 12 luxury sports cars valued at more than $1.3m, including a Ferrari worth more than $500,000 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. More than $1.8m in cash was seized and a further 1kg of methamphetamine found.

Watches, jewellery, electronics, and 48 bottles of vintage French wine valued at about $42,000 were also seized.”

“Yim was sentenced this month in the High Court at Auckland to 11 and a half years in prison for possession of a class A drug for supply.

During sentencing he was described by Justice Geoffrey Venning as being vital to the drug scheme which imported the equivalent of 30kg of pure methamphetamine with a street value of $40m.”

Of course it was a distraction from the handling of the $100,000 donation. That’s why Bridges jumped in so quickly with his “internal investigation into who was the leaker”. Anything to take the media’s attention away from the donation.

Along with Fran O”Sullivan, IMO there are bigger issues than Dowie’s text.

The Police investigation into laundering, influencing party selection processes, etc of National Party regarding possible disguising of an over cap donation ($100 000.00 with links to China.) and the assertions JLR made.

However she concludes National Party internal organisation should deal with Dowie’s text.
Good try!! But as they too are being investigated, as above, that seems an odd suggestion.

Some considerations around Digital bullying.
We need to gauge whether free speech is impinged?
Have we allowed for a suitable range of charges open to the police to use?
Will a prosecution deter similar behaviours.?
Contribution to cause to be considered?
Better test case law will eventuate?
As we agreed when the law was passed, digital bullying is dangerous.

Then the larger issue of threats to sovereignty, The Treaty Partner, and our International integrity? These are currently in official hands.

What do we mean by sovereignty? The Crown.? Our Country’s Integrity? The Treaty Partner in relation to possible bribes for access.

So yes, of much greater importance than an emotional piece of digital bullying. are these issues, and no, I do not see the National party internal review would be enough. Not nearly enough.

So I am left wondering why an experienced journalist made such a suggestion?
An internal review may be limited by frames of reference? Related areas could be ignored.?…..So I think the Police are possibly the best choice, unless there is a Public Review.

Thanks VV. I’m flat on my back with bed rest with the cracked socket, but I’m winning lol. Can do a few more things now I’m off that opium shite. But i do need to learn to link. Cheers..Oh and your suggested long handled brush and shovel has won high praise from “Him in doors”

The Fran O’Sullivan article is also interesting. Not yet ‘with it’ enough this morning to have decided my views on it, and there are quite a few new articles on the whole sad saga this morning – but at least most of them are now focusing back on the real issues of the donations, etc than the affair aspects. Will put up a few more links in the next hour or so.

VV I am on 8 panadol and 8 small codeine. which I can increase to 4 each time 120mg. On trmadol I was ill and unbalanced lol lol some would say that was a regular condition.
I see the Dr on Tuesday to decide whether to bring my x ray forward.

I was also much more with it once off the tramdol but only had it for the first two days. Panadol (paracetamol) is relative safe, and a little codeine much better than tramadol etc. I cannot even touch codeine but a little paracetamol goes a long way for me to relieve pain. Fingers crossed that they bring the x-ray forward asap.

If the crack was caused by the op, then I would look into your rights for extra help etc through ACC. If there has been no discussion of whether it was pre-existing before the op or caused by the op, personally I would be asking those questions as a first step.

Fran confirms that the National Party is deeply rooted, but they’ll sort it out behind the curtain, thank you.

Unfortunately the cat is well and truly out of the bag now and I can’t see this being shut down easily. And talking of cats, I have a feeling that the events that precipitated the text were business related (but totally stuffed any inter-personals) and the subsequent infidelity revelations were a dead cat to divert attention from the aforementioned events. That cat might have been a bit rough and is now quite pongy and shedding it’s copious fleas.

“I have a feeling that the events that precipitated the text were business related”

By that do you mean things like the relationship between Southland District Mayor Gary Tong and, among others, Chinese multi-millionaire Zhang Yikun – the wealthy and well-connected businessman linked by Jami-Lee Ross to a $100,000 donation to Simon Bridges and the National Party – and Dowie’s connection to those relationships? And also possibly the social/promotional event that took place in Wellington the night before the text was sent allegedly from her phone?

I commented on these at 31.2.1 on the ‘Herald outs Dowie’ post here yesterday; and also about ten days ago at 4.1 on the Chinese Herald post on 15 January.

I won’t attempt to provide links to these earlier comments as attempts to do so currently go to the post only, not to the actual comment. Both posts can be found by going to “Home” and searching down. The earlier “Chinese Herald” post is now on an earlier Home page which can be accessed from the bottom of the current Home page.

I was more commenting on the tone of the text, it seemed more related to a business matter than something personal, but went that way fast. Your connection about the timing added to my suspicions.

As to the event / action I wouldn’t have a clue, except when a political party see’s it’s main function as fund raising things can get rather messy.

My aside “the National Party is deeply rooted” is a quote from a speech Bill English delivered after the 2002 defeat to the faithful in Gore. It seemed rather apt right now. ( after a lengthy, wooden pause he said “in it’s membership” but the first bit is what stuck)

Interesting that you saw the tone of the text as starting initially as more related to a business matter before turning personal. Everyone sees things slightly different to each other, so respect your opinion but I certainly did not see anything business related at all.

The event in Parliament’s Banquet Hall the night before the text was sent was not a party political affair, nor a fund raising one. It was the annual “Southland Party” – a promotional evening re what is happening, available etc in Southland in terms of business, investment opportunities etc. hosted by Dowie as the local MP plus others including Mayor Gary Tong. Dowie posted photos on her Facebook account (also posted on the separate ‘Southland Party” Facebook account). These were of her and Tong in very good spirits with drinks in hand etc. Links to the FB pages and photos etc are in my earlier comments referred to above. Alcohol, parties and phones sometimes are a bad combination …

However, going back to your focus on business-related factors, I actually agree from the perspective that the real story here which is unlikely to go away soon is exactly that – ie fundraising donations, and relationships like that between Tong and Zhang and colleagues (including Dowie) in respect of Southland land, businesses etc. At least some reporters are now starting to focus on those aspects again as well as the more personal ones.

Re deeply rooted, I was rescued by my employer who arrived with a plate of canapés (well, cheese rolls, this is Gore) before I had to exhale. Bless her soul.

Re the text, sloppy language on my part. I meant the events that precipitated the relationship breakdown, which led to the text, weren’t JLR playing around with the staff, but rather JLR maybe torpedoing some deal that was going down. Which may fit with other events. Money being more important than relationships on that side, and provoking much stronger reactions.

Great to see that our own good mickysavage has now put a separate post on the Fran O’Sullivan article and related matters, so perhaps we can continue discussion there. Yesterday’s post on the Herald outing Dowie was getting overloaded at about 200 comments so good to have somewhere else to continue the discussion. (Despite the attempts to shut the discussion down by a certain person, to whom I replied but have had no response to my reply …)

No, not Ross, although I did reply to one of his comments on the Herald/Dowie post – the one at 20.3.1.1. with my reply at 20.3.1.1.3. My reply also referred him to another of mine at 31.3.1 re what Dowie had been doing the night before the text being sent to JLR, allegedly from her phone.

Ross has been here a bit lately and I wondered if the one here was the same Ross at The Daily Blog who recently promoted one of his books there. LOL

[Edit – also included the link from the above to Amazon and the book supposedly written by the TDB Ross but it ended up with a full photo of the cover! So, just to give the name – “Sex, Power and Politics” by Ross Meurant. LOL]

But we are not supposed to try to identify commenters here, which is fair enough. But I googled and could not find any reference to the author Ross being resident in NZ these days, let alone down your way.

My reply which I referred to in my earlier comment is at 31.2 on the Herald/Dowie post. The examples quoted are only a few of the recent ones. What is good for the gander is good for the goose (or ‘goose’ in both cases?) etc – or, as marty mars says, I ‘mirrored’ the behaviour.

YES I noted that … Further to crack. I have a crooked pelvis, they shortened the leg during surgery..planned… but we think it is just a small crack which happened during my 2nd walk as it bedded in . Real bad luck, but as the Dr and Surgeon said “You are an original!!” I was thrilled they managed epidural xx

No room for fresh blood though; it’s the same old names & faces from yesteryear all with their baggage high public profiles. Is this because there are no young people brimming with idealism and political aspirations or because they cannot cut through the political party structures unless or until they assimilate into the ‘collective’?

Someone ought to call the Russian bluff – ask which section of that law they believe applies to the situation. None, as far as I’m aware! However this could be a pointer: “Russia also told the UN Security Council that the US should give a clear answer on whether Washington is willing to use military force in Venezuela”. Fair enough, eh?

“France, Germany, Spain and the UK are giving Maduro eight days to call elections, failing which they will recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, joining other nations like the United States in endorsing him.”

“”Venezuela will not allow anyone to impose on us any decision or order,” Arreaza told the UN Security Council. “We will continue following the path of our democracy.”” That fake democracy is unlikely to prevail – it opposes the will of the people. The stalinists can only hold on by starving the people and using the military against them, and the latter only if soldiers continue to obey orders…

Capitalist + narcissist + hedonist only. Stalinism way too complicated for him, plus he seems to have got elected as a republican, accidentally, so all that funding of the Dems doesn’t really qualify him as leftist…

John Tamihere and Christine Fletcher. Really?
Christine staunch blue has already
been Auckland’s mayor two decades ago.
Why would she stand again after a 20 year hiatus with JT?
John Tamihere known primarily for being the brother of convicted murderer David.
And despite all the evidence against his brother
John always championed David’s innocence.
John Tamihere always looks so totally ill at ease
despite good looks ready smile and being articulate.
Very much like Winston Peters constantly repressing
his true identity for fear of upsetting the huge white vote.
It’s all about spin and image saying just enough
at the right time to appeal to enough voters.
Tamihere looks brown so may garner brown and left voters.
However Tamihere speaks white and identifies as a white
so may garner the Peters support ie whites who like the
brown who did the right thing and became a white.
It’s a game of numbers and spin.
He may well split the left vote and let a righty win.
At the end of the day an ant could be mayor of Auckland.
It’s a celebrity job that’s all.
John key any one?

Sadly unless someone better comes along I might be tempted to vote for them, not because I think they will improve things or that they are deserving candidates, but more because Phil Goff is more far right than the righties and after another 14.5 million on top of the hundred million extra given to America’s cup while we have record food parcels and poverty, he spent nearly a million on a secret report for the Atlantis underwater stadium that nobody in Auckland wants apart from a group of super rich developers and hangers on who will profit from it, stealing our harbour for the polluting cruise ships and spending over half our rates on Auckland transport which they inexplicably removed the 2 democratically elected councillors off to create even less accountability to name but a few of his decisions!

Hopefully a massive audit will uncover more routs so they can have a clear out of the many scams and use our rates money more effectively!

So what will Tamihere change that? He is going to be committed to the America’s Cup. It is simply not possible for any Mayor in Auckland to now have a different view. The govt is really only the entity that can deal with poverty. The govt tax take out of Auckland is more than ten times the rate take.
Tamihere will need to have a credible plan to be worth considering as the Mayor. Not just a series of over the top slogans. The one thing Goff has on his side is his professionalism.
In short to replace anyone who has been in office for only one term, it has to be shown they have obviously and seriously failed.

Is New Zealand seen by Australians as just an another offshore subservient dumping ground, for people the Australians no longer want, but who were moulded by growing up in Australia and fully shaped by that culture and society and are a product of it?

…..Were he to reoffend, there would be serious risk to the Australian community, Dutton said.

With this statement Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, who has spearheaded the deportation of more than 1600 people to New Zealand, shows he is callously indifferent to any risk posed to the New Zealand community by him dumping these people here far away from family and their usuals support networks, where experts say they are more likely to reoffend.

My God, NZ truely is becoming the new Australia of dumping ground of criminals either deported here, get residency here from immigration or are created as criminals because it’s a viable alternative to working as a wage slave.

Times, change Jenny and I think judging in by the rise of offending for drugs like Meth and class A drug importation, corruption, fraud and so forth by our new resident migrants, make the OZ criminals deported here, seem petty by comparison. Even worse is that type of offending creates more criminals and poverty from our own vulnerable people so that some new residents can profit even more?

Time for NZ to close all the gaps because our own people now are in food banks while they work, 20% of kids have no lunch and the dysfunction continues. Adding more people to distribute NZ taxes to and put in prison or rest homes and NZ hospitals seems to be making things worse in particular while bad government policy seem to be lowering our productivity.

Saying that, judging by the media coverage and constant faux? outrage for the British tourists who littered and stole a couple of items while here, it seems that big crimes are minimised while tiny indiscretions are huge news. Part of the distraction campaign maybe?

About time too, countries close the loop holes of new residents piggy backing off easier residency . Ak new scam is to become a Cook Island resident to get NZ residency automatically while new Kiwi residents can then shift off to OZ.

But there is still another, darker way of judging what goes on when elites put themselves in the vanguard of social change: that doing so not only fails to make things better, but also serves to keep things as they are. After all, it takes the edge off of some of the public’s anger at being excluded from progress. It improves the image of the winners. By using private and voluntary half-measures, it crowds out public solutions that would solve problems for everyone, and do so with or without the elite’s blessing.

There is no question that the outpouring of elite-led social change in our era does great good and soothes pain and saves lives. But we should also recall Oscar Wilde’s words about such elite helpfulness being “not a solution” but “an aggravation of the difficulty”. More than a century ago, in an age of churn like our own, he wrote: “Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realised by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it, so, in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good.”

Invasion Day, should also be remembered for the oppression and slavery, of the forced convicts transported to Australia.

The Western Australian records we’ve been using for our recent research and digitised for the Digital Panopticon project reveal the story of Samuel Speed, the last living Australian convict. He was transported to Western Australia in 1866 and died in 1938, just short of his 100th birthday.

Speed’s story

Samuel Speed. The Mirror (Perth), 1938.
Speed was born in Birmingham, England in 1841. He had one brother and one sister, but little else about his family or early life is known. He was in his early twenties when he was tried in Oxfordshire in 1863 for setting fire to a haystack. Homeless and begging for food, he had committed arson in order to get arrested and spend some time in a warm cell. He was sentenced to seven years of convict transportation to Australia……

Yum yum. New Zealand – The Jewel of De-Nial. They could make a satirical movie about us. How about it you bluff Kiwi film-makers? Or has some Kiwi political satire been happening lately that I have missed? (And remembering David McPhail and Jon Gadsby.)

I like this condensed quote from the book Ripping England!: Postwar British Satire… from google.
These ingenious satirists questioned the moral certainties of those often insular groups that held sway and power from the religious and political to the hidebound “preservationist’ societies.

Kathryn Ryan’s foreign correspondents are almost invariably substandard—Jack Hitt (“U.S. Correspondent”) warbling on for ten minutes about Game of Thrones on the day that Chelsea Manning’s “trial” began; Dame Ann Leslie (“Arrrrgggh! Every year we have to listen to the militant rabble rousing of the teacher unions!”); Kate Adie and her patrician disdain; Irris Makler; Jason Morrison, Matthew Parris. The fact that Matthew Parris is the best of them shows just how dismal this segment is.

Kathryn Ryan’s “African Correspondent” this morning was a South African, Deborah Patta. She had some interesting things to say about Zimbabwe. Apparently, shooting protestors will lead to investors staying away. Is that true? I sent the perky, unquestioning host the following email….

Shooting protestors in Zimbabwe

Dear Kathryn,

Your African correspondent Deborah Patta claims that the shooting of protestors in Zimbabwe will lead to investors avoiding that country. What makes her think that? After all, Israeli army snipers kill peaceful, unarmed protestors near the Gaza-Israel fence every Friday. Has that led investors to flee from Israel?

Yours sincerely,

Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point

So far, she has not deigned to reply. I note that later on this morning there will be a segment featuring Palestinian cuisine. Perhaps she’ll address my email then, but I doubt it.

Kia ora Newshub there you go duncan spraying Wai in the wind our students needed that extra money did you hear of students haveing to preform un civil task to pay rent with a unequal society te Wahine get trapped into having to proform these tasks just to get a education that should be FREE.

Banks insurance now we know whom there m8 was he would have made it easy for banks to take OUR money he was in power for nine years shonky. He would have slipped all his bent m8 in the leadership position he could teaching doctors bankers every place he could to keep power were he could m8 help m8. And in the real world most people follow the flow If a leader is leading one down the wrong path people will follow but not Eco Maori. Hence I say teachers are being led by their noses down the wrong path. I say. Our youth are our future if we don’t make higher education easier to achieve then we have to import the skills dumb way to run a Country not investing in OUR future. The one thing I agree on is the unmanaged imagration that is a very serious subject these new kiwis shape our society so it needs to be managed smarter kicks keep it smart and easy to run. We are going to have heaps of climate change refugees in the very near future. Niki the Indian cricket team will love the heat
Kia ora we need to keep a eye out on our elderly with the heat wave we are getting if one looks at other heat wave events around the world it is the elderly who are affected the most if they can’t afford to pay for air conditioning and are sitting in their house by themselves they could easily over heat and dehydrate check on thy neighbours. That is not on our Wahine who have breast cancer are not getting the treatment they need to survive as long as Wahine in Australia come on they are the carers of our tamariki get it fixed. Yes Amanda those Saudi men have their heads and minds in the wrong place I would say were there heads are but it’s not nice you can work that out for yourself. EQUALITY IS Needed.
There you go Graham money is that phenomenon hitting your hip pocket with your opinion on the heatwave hitting Aotearoa at the minute our media should be talking about climate change I no why they are not taking about climate change the oil barrons are distorting our reality and they don’t care about our tamariki future. We have to let the elderly know to be careful in this heat I know it’s hotter now that when I was in my 20,s Ka kite ano P.S ECO Maori view on reality is unbiase and free.

Goverments and farmer’s are put off OGANIC farming WHY because the Big companys monsanto dupont chemical linked to big carbon companys. the first two don’t want us to stop using there very expensive chemical when they find evidence that there chemical’s cause cancer they bury the evidence with $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
The oil barrons well one need’s to burn lot’s of ”CARBON to suck nitrogen out of the air atmosphere to make urea this is the main form of nitrogen use in farming. The big companys making urea use there $$$$$$$$$$ to suppress the truth about the positives of organic farming mean while urea is leaching into OUR Wai water AWA river’s Tangaroa oceans and poisioning them. They don’t care they can afford to pay big money for there food and water I bet they eat organic food O WHY ARE CANCER cases in the world these Rates are rising so fast Know one NO,S YEA RIGHT the wealth are selling US all Lies OUR Scientists are the truth teller not the MEDIA.
The economics of organic farming, a subfield of agricultural economics, encompasses the entire process and effects of organic farming in terms of human society, including social costs, opportunity costs, unintended consequences, information asymmetries, and economies of scale. Although the scope of economics is broad, agricultural economics tends to focus on maximizing yields and efficiency at the farm level. Economics takes an anthropocentric approach to the value of the natural world: biodiversity, for example, is considered beneficial only to the extent that it is valued by people and increases profits. Some entities such as the European Union subsidize organic farming, in large part because these countries want to account for the externalities of reduced water use, reduced water contamination, reduced soil erosion, reduced carbon emissions, increased biodiversity, and assorted other benefits that result from organic farming.[57]
Traditional organic farming is labor and knowledge-intensive whereas conventional farming is capital-intensive, requiring more energy and manufactured inputs.[86]
Organic farmers in California have cited marketing as their greatest obstacle.
Links below Ka kite ano.

One of Eco Maori tipuna pridited the arrivals of the Europeens he said to learn there knowledge and work with them there are a few other predictions that my old tipuna,s made . Some tangata are still upset that Ngati Porou sided with the settlors in the old days .They new that the settlors had a huge war machine in Britain that would come to Aotearoa and take all there whenua . There were other reason Ngati Porou side with the settlors to at least we are better than every other colonized tangata whenua around Papatuanuku Eco Maori is proud of what is tipuna achieved and so should all Ngati Porou descendants be proud of our tipuna

The origins of Manuel José are clouded in mystery. It is not known for certain where he came from, nor when he arrived in New Zealand. He arrived in the Waiapu area on the East Coast, probably in the late 1830s, and became known to Maori as Manuera, and to Europeans as Manuel José (or Josef), Emmanuel, or ‘The Spaniard’. It is likely that Manuel and José were his given names. His surname is unknown, and he may have suppressed it because, as one tradition suggests, he had deserted from an American whaling ship. Tradition among his descendants states that he was born in Segovia, Spain, and came to New Zealand via Peru. He is recalled as a tall, strong man with fair skin, green eyes, and long, reddish hair. His voice was loud and his gestures animated.
By the 1850s Manuel José was regarded by Maori and European alike as the leading trader in Ngati Porou territory. In 1861 he established a trading-post at Te Awanui, between Waipiro Bay and the mouth of the Waiapu River. He owned five horses and held half an acre of Ngati Porou land ‘by sufferance’, paying rent of £12 a year. An olive tree, which still stands, marks the site of his store. In 1873 he established a further trading-post at Tikapa, on the eastern bank of the Waiapu River, near Waiomatatini. He has been credited with the introduction to Waiapu of the plough, and also of the gorse bush. Link below

“Mr. Rabbit-nose” was Thomas Atkins, many of whose descendants are to be found on the East Coast to-day. Reweti Kohere informed the writer that Atkins was known to his face by the natives as “Tame Akena” (Tommy Atkins), but, behind his back he was always referred to not as “Rabbit-nose” but as “Tame Huti,” or “Tommy the Sniffer,” a nickname which had its origin on account of his habit of twitching his nose in rabbit fashion.
When maize was first grown on Taumata-o-te-Whatiu No. 1 block, some of the crop was taken to Atkins. Kereama (one of the growers) took only a small quantity, and, as Atkins was not prepared to give him, in return, all the goods that he demanded, he helped himself to Atkins’s stock-in-trade. A chief threw a spear at Kereama, and then both fired off guns, but neither was hit. Eventually, Kereama recompensed Atkins. Hemi Tapeka (Waiapu N.L. Court minute book No. 19) told the court that the crop was grown just before Whanau-a-Apanui’s attack upon Ngati-Porou at Rangitukia and the return fight at Toko-a-Kuku (1834). Maize was grown there for two years to enable guns to be procured. Atkins was not the only pakeha buyer. link below

The people of Waiapu were greatly influenced by the Christian teachings of Taumata-a-Kura (who had been at Toka-a-kuku), and later of the CMS missionaries, who came to the East Coast in 1840. Mokena, who later became a lay synodsman in the Waiapu diocese, was responsible for constructing St John’s Church at Rangitukia. This church, capable of holding 800 people, was consecrated by Bishop G. A. Selwyn in 1856.
Mokena fostered those elements of European culture and technology which he regarded as beneficial for his tribe. Traditional expertise in cultivation and navigation was turned to advantage, and as early as 1840 his people had successful agricultural and commercial enterprises. Wheat and maize were grown on a large scale, and schooners were purchased to transport their produce to Auckland and even to Australia. Mokena saw to the purchase of a 20 ton schooner, named Mereana after his daughter. He is recorded as master of the vessel in 1852. He also negotiated with traders on behalf of his people.
In January 1862, as part of Governor George Grey’s scheme for local Maori self-government, Mokena was appointed principal assessor for the Ngati Porou runanga in the combined districts of Waiapu and Tokomaru Bay. His fellow chiefs, Iharaira Te Houkamau and Wikiriwhi Matauru, were appointed assessors at Wharekahika, and at Te Kawakawa (Te Araroa). Much of the business of the assessors, who were assisted by a European resident magistrate, concerned internal matters of law and order. These were largely dealt with by local runanga, of which the assessors themselves, because of their tribal status, were members. Grey’s system, in effect, reinforced an existing form of Maori self- link

the life of Rapata until the wars of the 1860s, when Ngati Porou were divided by mounting tensions. Delegates from the East Coast attended a meeting at Pawhakairo in Hawke’s Bay with Tamihana Te Rauparaha to discuss the movement for a Maori king; and in 1862 the flags of the King movement were raised at Waiomatatini by Tamatatai, a Waiapu man who had been to Waikato. In reply, Mokena Kohere raised the Queen’s flag at Rangitukia. With the onset of war in 1863 some Ngati Porou joined the King’s forces. In March 1864 a large Ngati Porou war party was prevented from entering Waikato by Te Arawa, but some East Coast warriors succeeded in reaching Waikato through Tauranga.
Warfare came to the East Coast with the arrival in 1865 of the Pai Marire emissaries Kereopa Te Rau and Patara Raukatauri. They made many converts among Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, and virtually took over Poverty Bay. Meanwhile, further north, fighting broke out within Ngati Porou. Some hapu sympathised with Pai Marire, some were divided, and others opposed the new religion. Each faction concentrated its forces in opposing pa, many of them newly built.
Rapata, a leading lay member of the Anglican diocese of Waiapu, was attending a church opening at Popoti in June 1865 when the Reverend Mohi Turei brought news that Hauhau had arrived in the Waiapu Valley and were at Pukemaire. Rapata led 40 men, mostly of Te Aowera hapu, against them. Although the Hauhau won the battles of Mangaone and Tikitiki, Rapata distinguished himself by killing a Hauhau chief in single combat at Tikitiki. After Henare Nihoniho was killed at Mangaone, Rapata became the leader of Te Aowera. link below Ka kite ano

The Ion Ages is here and now . We have thin sheets that can use be used to catch energy Tesla was on to some thing big . The fools who back a technology that is over 200 years old need to stop backing carbon and invest in the New Ion Age only fools keep back losing horses .
In a step in that direction, scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created super-thin, bendy materials that absorb wireless internet and other electromagnetic waves in the air and turn them into electricity.
The lead researcher, Tomás Palacios, said the breakthrough paved the way for energy-harvesting covers ranging from tablecloths to giant wrappers for buildings that extract energy from the environment to power sensors and other electronics. Details have been published in the journal Nature.
Advertisement

“When you have one of these energy-harvesting devices you are collecting energy 24/7 and you could be storing that in a battery to use later,” Palacios said. “You could cover your desk with an electronic tablecloth and even though you’re only at the desk for so many hours a day, it would be harvesting energy the whole time.”
Palacios and his colleagues connected a bendy antenna to a flexible semiconductor layer only three atoms thick. The antenna picks up wifi and other radio-frequency signals and turns them into an alternating Ka kite ano links below

Kia ora Newshub It’s hot can fry a egg on a bonnet of a car could put glad wrap on it to spot ruining the paint. The roads are melting to climate change deniers please stand up. Life insurance they are leach to OUR society back in the day I new of someone who lost thousands in bullshit insurance one would think that they took a small % of one’s premium.
What do we know about the Westcoast they are carbon producers and fools and deniers of climate change time for a new council that council doesn’t care about there tamariki future. I seen that half a metre of rain in 24 hours in Queensland Australia let’s hope no lives were lost. That was a sham in Saudi Arabia Milisa what a joke. Ka kite ano

Kia ora The AM Show of course Mark does not like a capital gains tax the family homes not being tax is a good phenomenon. The tax burden needed to be lifted off the middle class most are treading water in Auckland it costs one person wages just to pay rent some people have to work 3 of those jobs that don’t guarantee a forty hour week. They can’t go on holiday and some end up at food banks.
This tax is aimed at the people that shonky gave our assets to the SHARE MARKET Mark you are a greedy fool. The reason we are taxing low income is because we don’t have a capital gains tax.If there was a capital gains tax on the family home you people would be jumping up and down about that to. I’m sure I seem two flags wavering people for the man who is the best deal maker in the world YEA RIGHT. Damien Farmers were making hay for Christmas after all they are in the best farming country in the Papatuanukue were else can one dig a garden and spend 1 hour a fortnight working it and at Christmas time harvest a bounty with no watering and no fertiliser .??? Amanda ECO Maori trys to keep that value if one going to say something bad don’t say it at all but when I see people denying our Mokopunas a future by denying climate change we’ll they get the – – – – from ECO Maori. I seen some data that said NZ has one of the highest insurers cover in the Papatuanukue??????. Taumaranui is a cool place I spent a bit of time farming there a we while ago. Tova It’s a different game now and I say the capital gains tax will get through now people change their minds Winston that is he’s looking quite sprightly lately Kia kaha.
Mark is just a greedy fool there you go crying we don’t get the old white man privileges you have all the management roles are filled by fools like you. Who keep all the best deals and jobs for fools like you. A society with equal income distribution is a safer and happier place to live raise tamariki. If human were not socialist dick we would have died out like the neanderthal like Mark and Duncan are neanderthal. 25 % is a % were the tipping point in favour of capital gains tax is not far out you guys must have rallied your poll trolls for that poll. The Old Taupo Mayor there is a lot of old Maori Mana in Taupo???????. What neanderthal business owners can’t see is the more money one gives the lower classes the more money they have to spend =more money for business it’s not Rocket Science neanderthal. There you go the insurance company /banks ripping the people off taking huge %. No wonder the banks have been sending 5 billion a year over seas I tryed to get life insurance because of the sandflys behaviour I wanted to leave something behind for the whano. It got rejected because the sandflys were going into my bank and playing silly buggers Ana to kai Ka kite ano.

What about alcohol it kills hundreds and is easy for the tamariki to get we are locking people up for weed and a drug that kills hundreds is the main causes family Violence that is a bigger problem in NZ than weed the only health alcohol has is cleaning wounds so neanderthal eat that. Ka kite ano

Fans $20 at the wha whare heaps of shade around the house mark you are full of it test have been done that proves that it’s cheaper efficient if the car is traveling to drive with the windows down and the air conditioning off in a car than having the air conditioning on and windows up but if stuck in a traffic jam windows closed air conditioning on or else you will cook I can see the needle move when I drive with air conditioning on

The truth is that the $400 a day for tree planting bull was a spin aimed at the lower classes on social security people from national poor people bashing to give national A tool to hit the Coalition govement on the HEAD with to lift nationals polls it does not matter to the neanderthal,s if they are hurting the poor people in the process. Eco Maori could see that a mile away The big forestry companys are keep all the creamy money for there m8 and pay the workers crap. The Drug testing is full of lop hole that favour alcohol and PEE . PEE is out of ones system in 12 hours alcohol one can have a drink the night before and nothing shows up weed if you had a smoke 3 days before the test fail no job. When one can work perfectly safe if weed was smoked the night before work what a sham . Because of this testing sham work place TESTING it actually pushes workers on to the drug that does not show up on these test and thats PEE
The average worker planted 600 trees a day, receiving 18 cents to 25c per tree, Geddes said.
“The highest I have paid a tree planter is 30c a tree, because of the rates we get from the forestry companies. The 50c to 60c a tree goes to the contractor.”

He said the solution to finding tree-planters was an increase in pay for everyone, and that industry wages failed to recognise the skill and work required for the job.
“In my opinion, the planter should be getting 40c to 50c a tree and the contractor more than $1 a tree. Then we would not have a problem getting planters,” Geddes said.
“It is quite a technical job and takes at least two years to get really good at it.”
He said the big forestry companies had put the screws on the industry to plant trees as cheaply as possible.
“A lot of Kiwis left the industry as it was no longer a good career option.”
Another silviculture contractor said, on average, his planters made 25c to 35c per tree, and planted anywhere from 800 to 1500 a day, depending on the conditions.
“It’s bloody hard work and even harder trying to find the right people that are willing to give it a go.” Ka kite ano PS Thanks for the truth stuff links below

You’ve got to wonder why the New Zealand Police undertook an armed response teams (ARTs) trial in the first place? Of course there was the Christchurch mosque terrorism attack, but that was an isolated incident and therefore cannot be used as an excuse to arm Police. What this trial does ...

A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, May 31 through Sat, June 6, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe world must seize this opportunity to meet the climate challengeAs current and former central bankers, we believe the pandemic offers ...

The 60 Years of New Zealand Television celebrations, such as they were, seemed to rely heavily on the classics: here we go again with Lynn of Tawa, A Week of It and the Country Calendar spoofs. Wonderful highlights of our televisual past, to be sure, but after hearing Paul Holmes’ ...

The Two Americas Collide: You gotta love the Americans marching for George Floyd and the fragile promises of the US Constitution. But, you also gotta keep your eye on the pale rider in the White House, and understand that behind him Hell follows.THE FRAGILITY of democracy’s promise is becoming clearer ...

Radical Proposition: The remote possibility that someone in the protest demonstrations might be carrying the coronavirus – and with no cases of community transmission detected for weeks that possibility is extremely remote – could not be permitted to constrain New Zealanders from demonstrating their support for the self-evident truth that black lives ...

Oliver Twist, famously asked for ‘more’. He did not challenge the system of workhouses – Dickens did – nor the authority of Beadle Bumble. He was only nine. I am often struck how critics of the current income maintenance system are like Oliver Twist. They ask for more, but they ...

New Zealand’s history as a sheep-farming nation means the command “Get in behind!” has long had a particular resonance — but not usually for journalists. However, in late March, as panic over the coronavirus pandemic surged around the world, Dr Gavin Ellis — former editor-in-chief of the NZ Herald — ...

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The Trump administration, after less than one full first term, has every likelihood of being adjudged the most anti-climate, anti-science, and anti-environment executive branch in U.S. history. With numerous high-level Trump nominees having cut their teeth as lobbyists with major polluting industries, the administration ...

Does National have any chance of winning the election in September? It’s looking very unlikely, especially after National’s change of leadership hasn’t exactly produced Mullermania in the first two weeks. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I summarised in Tuesday’s Political Roundup column: Todd Muller’s torrid start as National leader. ...

Another study comparing effect in children from nonendemic areas (Dagang) and endemic fluorosis area (Jinghai) about 80km apart in the Tianjin area of China. Hardly sampling the same population. Anti-fluoride campaigners still use studies from ...

George Thomson, Nick Wilson, Richard EdwardsThis blog discusses the passing of the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Act last week. We briefly review some lessons from this legislation’s long journey and explore future smokefree possibilities in Aotearoa / New Zealand. A law ...

Last month I noted that the public policy debate was all about how we deal with covid-19. That’s changing now, and will change more over the next couple of months as the buffering impact of the wage subsidy disappears and we see starkly the economic hole out of which we ...

The mission of the New Zealand Police is to make this country the safest nation in the world. To achieve that aim, there is one important step the police need to take at the end of this month. When the evaluation of the Armed Response Teams’ trial is completed, the ...

The right of employees to strike is an internationally recognised employment right that has been a feature of New Zealand’s industrial relations system for over a century, albeit with different constraints and limitations at different times. Although more restricted, this right even continued under the anti-union Employment Contracts Act (1993-2000). ...

Bernard Hickey is one of New Zealand’s leading financial journalists. His latest article, published by Newsroom, lays bare the cruel treatment of hundreds of thousands of workers stranded since the lockdown. Our Prime Minister is lauded overseas for her compassion, but her Cabinet is refusing to properly support tens of ...

For a good part of my adult life I have studied civil-military relations. I have studied authoritarian and democratic variants, and I have studied them across countries and regions. I have also worked in and with several US security agencies and have lectured on the theme at a number of ...

Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzIf we stopped oil, gas and coal extraction immediately – ...

by The Spark “The system is broken”—the words of a young black man in Minneapolis watching flames destroy a police precinct demonstrators had torched. Broken? Yes, it is! What else could you say about a system whose police for nine minutes casually knelt on a black man’s neck, watching until ...

The latest opinion poll is out, and it’s more bad news for the National Party, with Roy Morgan putting them on only 26.5% support, against Labour’s 56.5%. You can see the details here: Roy Morgan May opinion poll. Roy Morgan is regarded as less accurate than other polling companies, and the ...

When miners pillage conservation land, they are typically required to "rehabilitate" it afterwards. Its not much compared to the damage they do, but its something. But apparently even that is now too much to expect. NZG Limited, a company owned by Oravida directors James Blackwell, Julia Jiyan Xu, Stone Shi, ...

Like everyone else, I've spent too much of the weekend watching the protests in America, and the increasingly brutal response to them. The overwhelming impression is of a nationwide police riot, as people speaking out against a murder and demanding change are beaten, gassed and shot by racist, militarised thugs ...

In mid-April, as New Zealand entered its fourth week of alert level 4, the Prime Minister warned us not to make comparisons with other countries over our Covid-19 pandemic response. This extraordinary advice came after Simon Bridges had urged the government to adopt a less-stringent lockdown similar to those in ...

Wales has lowered the voting age to 16: 16 and 17 year olds can now officially vote in Wales for Senedd elections. Votes at 16 & 17 come into force on Monday, as part of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020. Next year’s Senedd elections will ...

The government announced more changes to the ETS today, including to the emissions budget for 2021 - 2025. The overall budget for that period will stay at 354 million tons of CO2-equivalent. But the ETS component of that - stockpile reduction, free allocation, and credits to be auctioned - budget ...

The new National Party leader, Todd Muller, had been at pains to portray himself as a solid, serious, safe pair of hands, in contrast to the increasingly Trumpian leanings of Simon Bridges, who Muller deposed in a leadership coup last Friday. But after an uneventful, if uninspiring, first press conference, ...

Minneapolis Police StationIf you’ve been keeping an eye on recent events in the United States, you’ll likely understand why there’s so much anger on the streets at the moment. Not only did police officers murder another black man; it is patently obvious that authorities initially attempted to cover up George ...

Becoming the leader of a political party is a bit like having a baby. Not so much the screaming and sleepless nights, as the fact that you’ve waited and hope and planned for something and it’s finally here. And when that wonderful gift finally arrives, you want to be ready, ...

The US appears to be headed towards what Antonio Gramsci and other Italian political theorists call an “organic crisis of the State.” It involves the simultaneous and compounded fractures of economy, society and politics, which together constitute a tipping point in a nation’s history. Social contradictions are exacerbated, class and ...

Like the rest of the world, I have been aghast at what I have seen of, and read and heard about, what is happening currently in the United States. It seems incredible that a once great country should be suffering the worst effects and the highest number of deaths worldwide ...

It’s almost painful to watch. Let’s be honest, maybe a pleasure too, in some quarters, but painful nonetheless. Because the fact is, for a democracy to function properly, any sitting Government does need honest and proper Opposition so that it doesn’t get ahead of itself. That’s what we should ...

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk A banner on the International Energy Agency website spells it out in bold font: “The global oil industry is experiencing a shock like no other in its history.” As the response to the coronavirus pandemic upends the lives of billions of ...

Australia's High Court has ruled that the "palace letters" between the queen and then-Governor-General John Kerr are public records rather than private papers: Historian Jenny Hocking has won her High Court bid to access the letters exchanged between then governor-general Sir John Kerr and the Queen around the time of ...

SATURDAY MAY 30Six60: Live at Western Springs 2020 (TVNZ 1, 8.45pm). Remember live concerts? The day will come again, friends, when we will be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in an uncomfortable sweaty venue with people we don’t know. It will happen. Sometimes the sound of concerts drifts over to the ...

New Zealand and its prime minister Jacinda Ardern have received international attention and praise, rightly so, for decisive leadership, clear communication and scientific management of the coronavirus pandemic. Observers point out that the nation has been through multiple crises under Ardern’s leadership – such as the Christchurch terrorist attack and ...

…a lot of things unrelated to the pandemic were happening. Relatively little attention was given to some major events on the global stage, so I thought I would do a quick recap of some of the high (or low) -lights, starting with something familiar. The common theme throughout is human ...

Labour's talk of gutting the RMA to push through "shovel ready" projects to boost employment after the pandemic predictably has every half-arsed pipe-dream crawling out of the woodwork demanding special treatment. Today, it's the West Coast inbreds, who are demanding a host of laws be rescinded so they can dig ...

"I can't breathe, Mama. I'm dying." - Last words of George Floyd.LOOK HARD at this image. Think about what it depicts. Ask yourself how one human-being could behave so brutally when so many eye-witnesses – and very soon millions of people online around the world – were there to watch ...

"You call that a conservative?Nah, this is a conservative!" New Zealanders are in the market for a quiet and reassuring small-c conservative political centrist. The critical question, however, is which politician is currently playing that role? Who has mastered the art of relaxed, informal and intimate political communication? Who ...

I’VE OFTEN WONDERED if South African immigrants passing through towns like Kerikeri and Kaikohe ever wonder how we do it. In their homeland, through the bitter years of Apartheid, keeping the races segregated required pass laws, Alsatian dogs, tear gas, rubber bullets and, all-too-often, live rounds. Not here. Not in ...

Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from July 31, 2019 to September 30, 2019. Sports categories must be by sex, not gender identity Queer theory glossary Woke misogyny and homophobia: a gay critique of trans ideology Another unfortunate experiment? New Zealand’s transgender health policy and ...

Smart Energy Europe: A Plan to provide 100% of ALL ENERGY using Renewable Energy to EuropeIntroductionAll Energy renewable energy systems are often commented on here at Skeptical Science. Many comments suggest that it will be difficult, expensive or impossible to use renewable energy to power the world. To ...

The government released its Action for Healthy Waterways package today, ostensibly with the goal of cleaning up our rivers and making them swimmable within a generation. Doing that, of course, requires confronting the cow in the room: the dairy industry which causes most of the pollution. But while they've imposed ...

Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzI would like to know if New Zealand’s carbon emissions ...

Simon Lamb, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Timothy Stern, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonBack in the 1970s, scientists came up with a revolutionary idea about how Earth’s deep interior works. They proposed it is slowly churning like a lava lamp, with buoyant ...

Remember KiwiBuild? Previously the government's flagship policy, it was supposed to build thousands of new homes every year for kiwi families. But instead of flooding the market, we've got a pathetic dribble: The Government's former flagship housing policy is so far behind schedule it will take more than 400 years ...

Don Franks Now Covid-19 restrictions allow gatherings of a hundred, an urgent hui needs calling. A special conference of the Council of Trade Unions. Today, workers face the greatest attack on employment, pay and conditions since the depression, we need a strong united union voice. As it stands now, organised ...

George Henderson New Zealand schools have introduced a climate change resource that suggests children “eat less meat and dairy”, even though teachers will not know how much meat or dairy any child in their care has eaten. Opinion pieces in the papers have called for the reduction of meat and ...

Questioning the number of district health boards in New Zealand has got to the extent that “too many DHBs” has become a perceived truth requiring no further elaboration. It is rarely challenged by policy advisers, academics, and journalists. But when one drills down further it becomes clear that the number ...

The emergence of a new National party leader, seemingly out of nowhere, has – not surprisingly – raised a number of questions as to who Todd Mulller actually is and what makes him tick. He has been an MP for some time but seems to have hidden his light under ...

Is Todd Muller the Ned Flanders of the National Party? This is how he’s been characterised by political commentator Gordon Campbell, who suggests the change in leadership is, in Simpsons terms, akin to swapping the scary and cruel Monty Burns for Homer Simpson’s compassionate but conservative neighbour. There’s almost a ...

We all know that many so-called journalists and political commentators in New Zealand work directly or indirectly for political parties or for certain political factions. This was obviously the case when pundit for hire Matthew Hooton launched a campaign against then National Party leader, Simon Bridges, over their numerous polling ...

Let's Roll! The easy victory over a Bridges-led National Party which the Left had every cause to anticipate just a few days ago is no longer in the offing. Our enemy’s position has changed. His numbers are swelling. A rapid thrust to the left, followed by an audacious outflanking manoeuvre ...

Anyone who keeps an eye on evidence around cannabis and public health will be familiar with the Christchurch Health and Development Study. It's one of two local longitudinal studies frequently cited with respect to cannabis and youth development. But in a new article in the New Zealand Medical Journal, it is ...

In the age of covid we are Jacinda’s team of five million, except for some. There has rarely been a more blatant case of discrimination against beneficiaries than Grant Robertson’s announcement yesterday that people who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus will receive weekly payments of $490 per week for 12 weeks and $250 per week for part time ...

It was 75 years ago this month that Germany surrendered and the Allies celebrated VE (Victory in Europe) Day. Millions of people around the world had been killed and many more injured or captured. It was an end to war not just for Europeans, but their allies too, in countries across Africa. But its impact is ...

Well, we are out of lockdown, essentially. I did end up getting the wage subsidy while we were on levels 3 and 4 but I would have been fine if we didn’t. The first day of level 2, the Thursday, the office opened again for the people who weren’t able ...

Share this:

Related

Hon Shane Jones, NZ First List MP based in Northland New Zealand First MP Hon Shane Jones has today announced his candidacy for the electorate of Northland. Speaking at a New Zealand First meeting in Kerikeri, Northland, Mr Jones said it was a privilege to be selected by the Party ...

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced two diplomatic appointments: New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India and Consul-General to Hong Kong. “As New Zealand recovers from COVID-19, our diplomatic and trade networks are more important than ever. That is ...

We started the week by announcing free apprenticeships to support Kiwis into work and to help get New Zealand moving again - and we ended the week by extending the wage subsidy to 40,000 more businesses, helping to protect businesses and workers alike. ...

We’re confident in the ability of Kiwi businesses to succeed in the face of COVID-19, and our Government is committed to doing our bit to enable that success. Kiwi businesses have always been innovative and resilient, and the COVID-19 pandemic has proven this yet again. Many businesses are finding new, creative ...

New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its first tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. The includes all sitting New Zealand First Members of Parliament except Clayton Mitchell MP who earlier today announced he will not be seeking re-election. In alphabetical order they are: MP ...

Clayton Mitchell MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Tauranga New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell has decided not to seek re-election in this year’s General Election. “After serious consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to pursue other passions in my life and spend a lot ...

Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced that new Lockheed Martin Super Hercules aircraft would replace the outdated and costly 1960s Hercules fleet. The $1.521b project will include a flight simulator for staff training and other supporting infrastructure. "This fleet will ensure the Defence Force can continue to support New Zealand's ...

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has described Labour's original COVID-19 commercial rent dispute proposal as "poorly targeted". Justice Minister Andrew Little hasannounced a temporary law changeto force commercial landlords and renters to consider COVID-19 in disputes over rent issues, almost two months after the Government first floated the idea. But ...

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First acknowledges that some small businesses have been struggling to meet fixed costs due to the loss of revenue by COVID-19. We also know some businesses are at greater risk of insolvency when they cannot come to a reasonable ...

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First is disappointed that the removal of the spousal deductions has had to be delayed by the Ministry fo Social Development, due to COVID19 workload pressures. “New Zealand First has always stood for fairness when it comes to superannuation ...

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First On the steps of Parliament today the Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters received a petition from registered nurse Anna Maria Coervers, requesting an amendment to the Protection for First Responders Bill which will ensure the legislation also include registered ...

It's been a busy seven days as we start to rebuild New Zealand together. From delivering extra support for small businesses, to investing in our artists and arts organisations, to cutting red tape on home DIY projects, we're rolling out our plan to get the economy and New Zealand moving ...

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Owned Enterprises KiwiRail’s Northland rail upgrade steps up another gear today and will help Northland recover from the impacts of COVID-19, State Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters says. The Government is investing $204.5 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to ...

“Today and every day we stand in solidarity with George Floyd’s family, friends and community who feel pain and fear about his untimely death at the hands of Minneapolis police”, said Green Party Co-leader and Māori Development spokesperson Marama Davidson. ...

Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Hon Eugenie Sage, Minister of Conservation The West Coast forests of Mount Te Kinga at Kotuku Whakaoho/Lake Brunner are the latest predator free project to receive Government funding, announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...

The Green Party has begun the process for a Select Committee inquiry into student accommodation, which has been exposed during COVID-19 as an under-regulated sector that straddles students with unfair debt. ...

Budget 2020 is about rebuilding together, supporting jobs, getting business moving and the books back into the black. It’s an integral part of our COVID-19 economic response, and our plan to grow our economy and get New Zealand moving again.Here’s a quick look at the five top things you ...

The Green Party is pleased to reveal its candidate list for the upcoming election. With a mix of familiar faces and fresh new talent, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to lead the Greens back into Government. ...

The Coalition Government has approved $206 million in essential upgrades at Ōhakea Air Base. Defence Minister Ron Mark said the money would be spent on improving old infrastructure. He said safety issues would be addressed, as well as upgrades to taxiways, accommodation and fresh, storm and waste water systems. "This ...

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First “I am not persisting with this case just for myself, but for all people who have had their privacy breached. Privacy of information is a cornerstone of our country’s democracy. Without it our society truly faces a bleak future. We now ...

Share this:

Related

This summer presents a great opportunity for New Zealanders to get out into nature with bookings on Great Walks for 2020/21 set to open next week, says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. Bookings for the Great Walks will open between 9 and 11 June, excluding Milford and Routeburn tracks which ...

Extra 40,000 businesses to be eligible for wage subsidy extension Small business cashflow support application period extended The Government is today announcing further support for businesses that continue to be affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, as the broader economy becomes one of the most open in the world following ...

The Coalition Government has confirmed five Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport aircraft will be purchased to replace the existing fleet, Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “Last year, Cabinet selected these aircraft as the preferred option to replace the current Hercules fleet. Procurement of the Super Hercules has been ...

The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage is celebrating World Environment Day with an announcement of a major step towards Wairarapa Moana being recognised as an internationally significant wetland. “Wairarapa Moana is an ecosystem of 10,000 hectares of wetland and open water that provides a home for indigenous fish, birds and ...

New public housing that will save tenants money in energy bills, and provide warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, is setting the standard for the Government’s future public housing programme, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. Dr Woods opened the new Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities complex, which has a ...

A new-look Police graduation ceremony to take account of COVID19 health rules has marked the completion of training for 57 new constables. Police Minister Stuart Nash attended this afternoon's ceremony, where officers of Recruit Wing 337 were formally sworn in at the Royal New Zealand Police College without the normal support of ...

Mobile traders and truck shops must adhere to responsible lending requirements Interest rate cap on high-cost loans Lenders prohibited from offering further credit to an applicant who has taken two high-cost loans in the past 90 days The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Kris Faafoi, has signalled an end ...

94% of firms say wage subsidy had positive impact on cashflow 62% of firms say support helped to manage non-wage costs like rent A survey of business that have received the Government’s wage subsidy show it has played a significant role in saving jobs, and freed up cash flow to ...

New legislation introduced to Parliament today will support growth and assist businesses on the road to economic recovery, said Revenue Minister Stuart Nash. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020-21, Feasibility Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill proposes that businesses can get tax deductions for ‘feasibility expenditure’ on new investments,” said Mr ...

Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson has welcomed the first release of funds from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced as part of Budget 2020. Sport NZ has announced that $4.6 million in funding will go to the Wellington Phoenix, NZ Warriors, Super Rugby teams and the ANZ Premiership ...

An iconic New Zealand tourism attraction and the country’s 31 Regional Tourism Organisations are the first recipients of support from the $400 million Tourism Sector Recovery Plan, to help position the sector for recovery from COVID-19, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The plan includes a Strategic Tourism Assets Protection ...

The Government will legislate to ensure businesses that suffered as a result of the COVID-19 response will get help to resolve disputes over commercial rent issues, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. A temporary amendment to the Property Law Act will insert a clause in commercial leases requiring a fair ...

The Minister for Small Business says new data from Xero highlights the urgency of prompt payment practices to small and medium enterprises as we move into economic recovery. Last month Government ministers wrote to significant private enterprises and the banking industry to request they join efforts by government agencies to ...

Young people in Waikato will be the first to have free access to period products in schools in another step to support children and young people in poverty,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. During term 3, the Ministry of Education will begin providing free period products to schools following the ...

The Minister of Police Stuart Nash has issued the following statement in response to charges filed against three Police officers this morning in the New Plymouth District Court. “Any incident involving a loss of life in Police custody is taken very seriously. The charges today reflect the gravity of the ...

$196 million for Crown Research Institutes $150 million for R&D loan scheme $33 million for Māori research and development opportunities $12 million for the Nationally Significant Collections and Databases $10 million to help maintain in-house capability at Callaghan Innovation New Zealand’s entrepreneurs, innovators and crown researchers will benefit from a ...

Further temporary changes to NCEA and University Entrance (UE) will support senior secondary school students whose teaching and learning have been disrupted by COVID-19. “The wellbeing of students and teachers is a priority. As we are all aware, COVID-19 has created massive disruption to the school system, and the Government ...

Minister for Racing Winston Peters today announced that the terms for the directors of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) have been extended to 30 June 2021. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the transition period has been extended to ensure that the Racing Industry Bill can complete its progress through ...

The deadline for landlords to include detailed information in their tenancy agreements about how their property meets the Healthy Homes Standards, so tenants can see the home they are renting is compliant, has been extended from 1 July 2020 to 1 December 2020. The Healthy Homes Standards became law on 1 July 2019. The Standards are ...

Justice Minister Andrew Little today announced details of further appointments to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. “I am pleased to announce Paula Rose QSO OStJ as Deputy Chief Commissioner for a term of five years commencing on 15 June 2020,” said Andrew Little. “I am also pleased to announce the ...

The Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF) will pay costs of learners of all ages to undertake vocational education and training The fund will target support for areas of study and training that will give learners better employment prospects as New Zealand recovers from COVID-19 Apprentices working in all industries ...

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will finally start to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas pollution as it was originally intended to, because of changes announced today by the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw. The changes include a limit on the total emissions allowed within the ETS, rules to ensure ...

Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List provides an abundance of examples that Pacific people’s leadership capability is unquestionable in Aotearoa. “The work and the individuals we acknowledge this year highlights the kind of visionary examples and dedicated community leadership that we need ...

The Government is backing a new $27 million project aimed at boosting sustainable horticulture production and New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery efforts, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Our horticulture sector has long been one of New Zealand’s export star performers, contributing around $6 billion a year to our economy. During and ...

The Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List once again highlights the dedication by many to looking after our native plants and wildlife, including incredible work to restore the populations of critically endangered birds says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. Anne Richardson of Hororata has been made an Officer of the New ...

The Government will invest $10 million from the One Billion Trees Fund for large-scale planting to provide jobs in communities and improve the environment, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Forestry Minister Shane Jones have announced. New, more flexible funding criteria for applications will help up to 10 catchment groups plant ...

Organisations that support women are invited to apply to a new $1,000,000 fund as part of the Government’s COVID-19 response. “We know women, and organisations that support women, have been affected by COVID-19. This new money will ensure funding for groups that support women and women’s rights,” said Minister for ...

Healthier waterways are front and centre in a new project involving more than 300 King Country sheep, beef and dairy farmers. The Government is investing $844,000 in King Country River Care, a group that helps farmers to lift freshwater quality and farming practice, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “Yesterday ...

A major funding package for libraries will allow them to play a far greater role in supporting their communities and people seeking jobs as part of the economic recovery from COVID-19. “Budget 2020 contains over $60 million of funding to protect library services and to protect jobs,” says Internal Affairs ...

A jobseekers programme for the creative sector and four new funds have been set up by the Government to help our arts and music industry recover from the blow of COVID-19. Thousands of jobs will be supported through today’s $175 million package in a crucial economic boost to support the ...

Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has welcomed the First Reading of a Bill that will make legislative changes to further improve the veterans’ support system. The Veterans’ Support Amendment Bill No 2, which will amend the Veterans’ Support Act 2014, passed First Reading today. The bill addresses a number of ...

Views sought on Order in Council to help fast track the reinstatement of the Christ Church Cathedral The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Poto Williams, will be seeking public written comment, following Cabinet approving the drafting of an Order in Council aimed at fast-tracking the reinstatement of the ...

The law setting out New Zealanders’ basic civil and human rights is today one step towards being strengthened following the first reading of a Bill that requires Parliament to take action if a court says a statute undermines those rights. At present, a senior court can issue a ‘declaration of ...

Thousands of artists and creatives at hundreds of cultural and heritage organisations have been given much-needed support to recover from the impact of COVID-19, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern announced today. “The cultural sector was amongst the worst hit by the global pandemic,” Jacinda ...

Key New Zealand assets will be better protected from being sold to overseas owners in a way contrary to the national interest, with the passage of the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Bill. The Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament today, also cuts unnecessary red tape to help attract ...

Setting higher health standards at swimming spots Requiring urban waterways to be cleaned up and new protections for urban streams Putting controls on higher-risk farm practices such as winter grazing and feed lots Setting stricter controls on nitrogen pollution and new bottom lines on other measures of waterway health Ensuring ...

The Government is on the verge of reaching its target of state sector boards and committees made up of at least 50 percent women, says Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter and Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa. For the first time, the Government stocktake measures the number of Māori, ...

ANALYSIS:By Denis Muller of theUniversity of Melbourne When a newspaper with the authority of The New York Times chooses to publish a party-political essay calculated to further inflame the violence wracking cities across America, serious questions arise. On June 3 the Times published in its opinion section an ...

For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Noble, Education Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Three quarters of a million Australian children are likely to be experiencing employment stress in the family as a result of COVID-19. This is on top of around 615,000 children whose families were ...

Spice up the classic banana muffin with a subtle touch of star anise.These muffins came about one rainy Saturday when the cupboards were bare and there was nothing much left in the fruit bowl aside from some very sad-looking bananas. Fortunately we know sad bananas result in the best kind ...

For years, Work and Income has been telling New Zealanders they couldn’t get the benefit until their redundancy payments ran out. Turns out, it was wrong.What’s all this then?Work and Income has long told New Zealanders receiving redundancy payments that they weren’t eligible for the benefit until their redundancy money ...

New Zealand writer Anna Rankin reports from Los Angeles. Last Friday afternoon, I went downtown to a protest outside the enormous Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on 1st Street. The LAPD had set up cordons, placing orange cones across streets to block traffic. Arms crossed, they stood with a wide ...

Until the sudden closure of Bauer Media in April, Simon Farrell-Green was the editor of HOME, New Zealand’s oldest architecture magazine. Here he explains what comes next.Being the editor of a major architecture magazine was the best job I ever had. I got it in 2016, after a career spent ...

A global success story or an overly generous, unsustainable scheme that is doing lasting damage to our fish stocks? Ethan Neville looks at the ongoing debate over New Zealand’s fishing quota management system. The management of our fisheries is a touchy topic – and why wouldn’t it be? New Zealanders ...

By RNZ News Thousands of people were protesting across Australia today to oppose the deaths of Indigenous people in police custody. It comes as Black Lives Matter protests are held around the world after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in the US ...

For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...

One press statement from the Beehive yesterday sounded more like advertising – or a barker’s pitch – than a Government announcement. Another advised of two diplomatic appointment, one of them – has the woman who landed the post done something wrong? – to protest-troubled and politically volatile Hong Kong. And ...

It’s not often that someone graduates from university one year and becomes a senior economist commentating on national media the next. George Driver investigates the meteoric rise of the high-flying Brad Olsen.Google “senior economist Brad Olsen” and you’ll find him quoted in no fewer than 167 articles in the past ...

As public sentiment turned against Uber Eats, a new local operation emerged promising a more ethical alternative to help New Zealand’s struggling hospitality industry. But now Eat Local NZ has suspended trading after falling out with its Australian partner Mr Yum. So what happened?A dispute between local hospitality platform Eat ...

By Budi Sutrisno in Jakarta As the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died while being arrested in the United States, sparks a global outcry, Indonesian rights advocates and young people have stepped forward to remind fellow citizens that racism has long been an issue at home as ...

Edward Cullen became a vampire to survive the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Now a new Twilight novel looms and Laura Surynt, a New Zealander living in the UK, wants to live forever too. As I lay in bed this morning watching Instagram stories, Tayi Tibble told my reluctant little Capricorn ...

Over the lockdown period, thousands of people joined a Facebook group dedicated to remembering the nightlife of inner-city Auckland. Its creator Simon Grigg explains why it touched a chord in lockdown.Within a few days of The Lost Nightlife of Inner-city Auckland Facebook page accidentally going live on May 12, we ...

Throughout Anglo colonial states there is a constant habit of defining people who aren’t white as a problem, writes Aaron Smale in this personal essay. It was a balmy summer evening in the capital and cops were standing over a young brown man. I was walking down Courtenay Place on ...

"The countdown clock ticks 2, then 1, then the prime minister raises her drink": dystopia, by Ōtautahi writer Laura Borrowdale. You stand in the centre of the room, and around you, the guests seem to swirl and blend into one. There’s a mouth, gaping and red, filled with laughter. A ...

Martin Luther King Jr said in 1963: “America has given the Black people a bad cheque, a cheque which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’." Six generations of egregious police violence later, the sentiment out of which those bad cheques were born could be shifting. In the wake of egregious police violence, ...

WATCH: In a candid interview on Sky Sport, Dame Susan Devoy talks on her concern for rising sports stars, the state of NZ squash, and the spectre of racism. Dame Susan Devoy is proudly still “a little terrier who fights for the underdog”. “I have been doing it all my life and ...

Of the huge funding boost coming for early childhood education, Playcentre has been left with just the crumbs, writes Kate Barber. Amidst all the celebration of the $430m funding boost for early childhood education (ECE) announced in this year’s budget, little attention was paid to the plight of Playcentre. The ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vikrant Minhas, PhD candidate, University of Adelaide Although bacteria are single-celled and microscopically small, they still need energy to survive, just like us. One of the most efficient ways of acquiring energy for bacteria is through sweet, soluble carbohydrates: sugars. In fact, ...

PACIFIC PANDEMIC DIARY:By David Robie Three cartoonists had especially poignant takes on the tragic and toxic political aftermath of martyr George Floyd’s brutal killing under the knee of a white American policeman in Minneapolis last week. The Boston Globe’s Christopher Weyant featured a split frame contrasting a red-capped “Make ...

Are central bankers jealous that epidemiologists are the rock stars of the current crisis?There is talk that both the British and New Zealand central banks might institute negative interest rates as part of the policy response to the Covid shock. While Sweden’s central bank ended its five year experiment ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monika Sarder, Senior Strategic Analyst, Monash University Algorithmic decision-making has enormous potential to do good. From identifying priority areas for first response after an earthquake hits, to identifying those at risk of COVID-19 within minutes, their application has proven hugely beneficial. But ...

LISTEN: This week's Extra Time podcast discusses racism in sport and the role of athletes and organisations in making a stand for good. Former Silver Fern and Black Fern Louisa Wall believes today's sports stars must have a social conscience and stand up against discrimination and divisiveness. Sport and politics, once ...

Auckland writer Caroline Barron has a terrific book out today called Ripiro Beach: A Memoir of Life After Near Death. Here, she writes about the memoirs that have been a balm, a lesson, or both. Throughout my life, I’ve sought solace between the covers of books, particularly memoirs. There, I’ve learnt ...

An exclusive interview with Steve McSteverson about his traumatic and tragic ordeal this week.Many New Zealanders are struggling with the news that a children’s book not commissioned or authorised by Jacinda Ardern was advertised in a newsletter for children’s books. This horrific attack on New Zealanders whose ears are permanently ...

Air New Zealand staff are dismayed and angered at the company’s announcement to cut a further $150 million from their wage bill. On Friday, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Foran, made the announcement to employees, who are still ...

The Herald reported this morning that MediaWorks was on the verge of selling its TV assets to US TV giant Discovery – but an internal email and senior source suggest the story may have been premature.A senior MediaWorks source has emphatically denied a report in the NZ Herald that a ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University Life in lockdown has been tough on many relationships. But negotiating the transition back to “normal” as restrictions continue to lift could also be a challenge for couples. So what ...

A slight bounce in the economy is brightening the outlook as the country heads into the winter months, Radio NZ reports. Retail spending is up and NZ shares rose on Thursday for a third day running. Key indicators have led some economists to point to a faster recovery than expected. ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide HomeBuilder is a good idea gone bad. It is possibly the most complex and least equitable program the government could have devised to deliver construction jobs. It gives $25,000 to people who already ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Keller, Professor of Cognitive Science, Western Sydney University The coronavirus pandemic has silenced the world’s concert halls and opera theatres. Organisations specialising in live performance face an existential crisis under current restrictions on social gatherings, with up to 75% of people ...

Finance Minister Grant Robertson, wearing his Sport and Recreation ministerial hat, can show he can be a big spender and draw voters’ attention to his largess each time he dispenses money from the funds under his control – or the control of an agency within his ministerial bailiwick. Yesterday he ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan University Scott Morrison wants to overhaul the skills workforce to ensure a better post-COVID-19 recovery. But there may not be enough people with the necessary skills to do so. And travel restrictions, which ...

As we transition out of a Covid-focused world and prepare for what comes next, New Zealand’s ICT industry is gearing towards growth.From app development helping track the Covid-19 virus to website engineering keeping businesses in touch and online, ICT knowledge has been crucial to keeping New Zealand working over the ...

Analysis: As New Zealand eases restrictions, it no longer has international precedent to look towards and must decide on its own how to reopen the economy while reducing the risk of a second wave of infections, Marc Daalder reports While most of the country eagerly awaits a likely move to ...

Ten days is too long. That from insurance claimant advocate, Ali Jones. EQC has today made contact with homeowners via email after accidentally releasing confidential details of 8000 insurance claims on May 26. Jones says although she has not received ...

The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Penguin Classics, $24)Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. The other day, ...

Simon Day discovers how the voluntary carbon market allows both individuals and companies to offset their emissions at the same time as investing in native forest regeneration.When Celia Wade-Brown sold her first batch of carbon credits earned from the native forest on her Wairarapa farm, she had two customers: Z ...

Simon Day discovers how the voluntary carbon market allows both individuals and companies to offset their emissions at the same time as investing in native forest regeneration.When Celia Wade-Brown sold her first batch of carbon credits earned from the native forest on her Wairarapa farm, she had two customers: Z ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin. The conversation around the 2020 covid19 pandemic has been widely framed as ‘health versus the economy’. It has been quite political, with people leaning to the left emphasising ‘health’, and people leaning to the right emphasising ‘the economy’. A couple of weeks ago ...

Sam Brooks pays tribute to Alex Rider, and the new TV series that (finally) captures the spirit of the books.“What if James Bond was a teenager?”The concept for Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series is so simple but so brilliant. There’s a reason why the franchise has managed to sustain 12 ...

Analysis - The PM resists pressure to move immediately to level 1, Winston Peters' tactics play into the hands of the Opposition and the government at last works out a commercial rent solution, writes Peter Wilson. ...

Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By COHAFrom Washington DC Federal charges against the four protectors of the Venezuelan Embassy, who defended the building in Washington DC against violent opposition crowds for several weeks between April 10 and May 16 of 2019, were completely dropped in a case that ...

Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By COHA Editorial TeamFrom Washington DC The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) joins the Black Alliance for Peace[1] and other pro-democracy organizations throughout the world in calling for the United Nations to address the systemic violations of human rights by the police and ...

Being shot by police had a profound, transformational effect on Rob Mokaraka’s life in more ways than you’d expect. A new documentary, airing on Māori TV at 7.30pm on Sunday, explores the work he’s done to heal his own mind and to ensure nobody has to go through the same ...

Human rights watchdog TAPOL has condemned the demand by Indonesian prosecutors seeking 17 and five years imprisonment for West Papuan activists Buchtar Tabuni and Irwanus Uropmabin. On June 2, the Jayapura District Prosecutor’s Office issued 33 pages containing charges against the defendant Irwanus Uropmabin. In the document, the Public Prosecutor ...

The arrival of Dan Carter is far from the first time the ever-struggling Auckland team has hoped to turn around its fortunes with a star signing, writes Jamie Wall.New Zealand rugby Twitter is a generally desolate place, especially lately given that there’s been nothing to talk about ever since the ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity US President Donald Trump delivered an address this week in which he threatened military action on the nation. Then he walked to the nearby St John’s Episcopal Church ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Why do we burp? We sometimes also burp before meals, why does this happen? — Ahaana, age 7 That is a really interesting question, Ahaana! There ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland After years of litigation, Australia’s highest court will today make a major decision on the fate of the controversial proposed expansion to the New Acland Coal mine in Queensland. ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Senior Lecturer, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Robodebt isn’t the only measure the government should consider withdrawing. Late last Friday, after a long press conference from the prime minister which avoided any mention of the topic, the ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University What keeps democracies together? As America burns, Brazilians die and Europe braces for another wave of the coronavirus, the question assumes an alarming immediacy. If the answer is complicated in one way, it is ...